Dr. Mark Hyman’s new cookbook advises we can ‘Eat Fat, Get Thin’

You can eat the fatty foods you love, but stay skinny and healthy. It sounds too good to be true, or like a cheesy middle-of-the night TV informercial.

But according to Dr. Mark Hyman, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author and the director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, — that’s exactly what we should all be doing. And that’s pretty good news as the holiday season looms large.

Hyman is the author of 12 previous books, including the “10-Day Detox Diet” and “The Daniel Plan.” The cookbook is the follow-up to his guide to “Eat Fat, Get Thin,” which was released earlier this year and debunked the conventional wisdom on the topic of fat.

“Eat Fat, Get Thin” is dedicated to “anyone who has suffered through a low-fat diet or really, any diet,” Hyman said. The cookbook contains recipes for indulgent favorites like pumpkin pie bulletproof coffee, shepherd’s pie, compound butters, and even desserts like chocolate truffles and no-bake walnut brownies.

Typical diets combine calorie deprivation with tasteless foods, which is a recipe for failure,” Hayman said. “It’s simply too hard to keep cravings at bay when you feel deprived and aren’t enjoying the food you do eat. Sugar addiction always seems to rear its ugly head, causing people to fall off the wagon. The problem with most diets is that they lack the key ingredient that actually makes food taste good and cuts your hunger: fat!”

For years, doctors, scientists, the media and even the government told us that eating fat causes weight gain and heart disease, according to Hyman.

“For so long we were told that fat causes weight gain, and a whole host of other problems, but the truth is that overconsumption of processed carbohydrates causes a spike in the body’s production of the hormone insulin, which increases the storage of fat, especially dangerous belly fat. And that is just the start of the damage that sugar can do to your body,” Hyman said.

Dr. Mark Hyman | Jonsar Studios photo

“Dietary fat, on the other hand, does not cause a spike in insulin,” he continued. “Unlike eating carbs, eating fat makes your body burn fat, rather than store it. Healthy cell walls made from high-quality fats are better able to metabolize insulin, which keeps blood sugar better-regulated. Without proper blood sugar control, the body socks away fat for a rainy day. The right fats also increase fat burning, cut your hunger, and reduce fat storage.

Eating the right fats makes you lose weight,” Hyman said.

So what are the right fats, exactly? According to Hyman, they include coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, coconut milk, avocado, fatty fish like sardines and wild salmon, nuts and seeds, olives and grass-fed butter or ghee (clarified butter).

Most of the “Eat Fat, Get Thin” recipes fall into what Hyman calls the “pegan diet,” which combines the paleo and vegan diets and focuses on “real, whole, fresh food” that is sustainably raised and rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in sugar, refined carbs and processed foods.

Each recipe begins with a helpful explanation of its health benefits and special instructions. Most of the recipes incorporate ingredients many people already have around the home — though you might want to pick up some ghee or make some of your own.

In the cookbook, Hyman details a typical day of eating for him, which begins with an omelet or frittata cooked in grass-fed butter, or a shake made with nuts and seeds, followed by a big salad with wild fatty fish, avocados and pumpkin seeds, and topped off with a dinner of grass-fed lamb (fat still on it, of course) for dinner, along with veggies cooked in olive oil.

Hyman’s biggest piece of advice for his readers? Eat real food.

“A fresh avocado or a kiwi doesn’t come with a nutrition facts label, or a bar code or ingredient list. If you do buy packaged foods, focus on the ingredient list, not the “nutrition facts” that are mostly designed and developed under huge food industry lobby efforts to confuse and confound your efforts to eat healthy. If you don’t recognize an ingredient, can’t pronounce it, or it is in Latin or you don’t have it in your cupboard and you wouldn’t use it in a recipe – maltodextrina [a polysaccharide that is used as a food additive], for instance – then don’t use it,” Hyman said.

Readers who pre-order “Eat Fat, Get Thin” at eatfatgetthin.com will get early access to some of the “mouthwatering” recipes.

Combine all the ingredients in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pot, place it in the oven, and cook until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 1/2 hours.

Carefully transfer the short ribs to four shallow serving bowls. Using a spoon, skim off and discard as much fat as you can from the surface of the cooking liquid. Pour the cooking liquid into a blender and blend on high speed until smooth, about 45 seconds. Pour the sauce over the short ribs, dividing it evenly, and serve.

In a food processor, combine 7 of the dates, the cashews, the 3 tablespoons of cacao powder, and the vanilla, nutmeg, and salt. Process until the mixture is finely ground and begins to stick together, 45 to 60 seconds. Pinch off a marble-size piece and squeeze it in your hand; it should be cohesive. If it isn’t, return it to the food processor, add the remaining 2 dates, and process until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Using a small ice cream scoop or two spoons, portion the mixture into 20 evenly sized mounds and place on a small baking sheet. Use your hands to roll each mound, one at a time, into a firmly packed ball and place it back on the baking sheet.

Put the remaining 1/4 cup cacao powder in a small bowl. Roll each truffle into the cacao powder until coated on all sides and return it to the baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate the truffles until firm, at least 1 hour or up to 1 week. Serve chilled.